Brownsville City Council members met Wednesday, May 7 at the Brownsville Community Center. Mayor Jean Meyer called the meeting to order at 7 p.m. and led with the Pledge of Allegiance. Council members present included Meyer, Pam Walhovd, Bill Fitzpatrick and David Prestby. Councilor Barb Hurley was absent. City employees present were City Clerk Steve Schuldt, City Treasurer Jenna Knight, and from Maintenance, Dean Twite.
A Public Hearing took place in regards to the subdivision of residential parcel 20.0115.000. The parcel currently consists of three lots, with the subdivision each would then have 1.5 lots. Mayor Meyer asked, “Is there any objections? Any comments?” Councilor Fitzpatrick moved, seconded by Prestby, to approve the resolution. Motion carried. Then councilor Walhovd moved, seconded by Fitzpatrick, for one lateral with two hookups. Motion carried. The Public Hearing closed at 7:12 p.m.
The Consent Agenda wa approved as presented.
Rick Denstad of Brownsville Lions Club addressed the council, seeking permission to include banners on each side of the Brownsville sign across from The River Station. “It’d be nice to have something up there to bring people to town,” stated Denstad. Denstad said two weeks prior to Brownsville Days, banners could be put up; the banners would help get the word out of potential upcoming events. The council unanimously approved Denstad’s request.
Old Business
Ring & Run sought permission to generously donate a wooden bench in honor of Gary and Jen Candahl. The bench’s wood does not need to be maintained and it is weather proof. The council recommended the bench’s location to be by the post office. City Treasurer Knight shared that Ring & Run previously donated $500 in that the city would reimburse them for that amount so they could purchase their bench. The council unanimously approved Ring & Run’s generous donation.
Mayor Meyer shared all four candidates were offered the vacant Summer Recreation positions. Fitzpatrick chimed in, stating to get the word out so kids can sign up!
Two representatives from Bollig Engineering-Paul Dhoore and Kris Ambuehl presented to the council five options to choose from when it comes to the city’s wastewater treatment plan. The five options Bollig presented, were options that would be a good fit for the city;
- Option #1: Alage wheel, which includes a big wheel that spins to help clean water. The wheel spins slowly in a tank of dirty water where algae and bacteria grow on the wheel. The bacteria and algae basically do the cleaning. An alage wheel would cost roughly $9.7 million.
- Option #2: GWT RAB, includes a big wheel or flat surface that slowly spins in dirty water. The algae that grows on the wheel cleans the water. This option is a lot of maintenance but treats wastewater phenomenally. This would cost roughly $12.1 million.
- Option #3: miniMBR (Innova Treat), which is a small machine that cleans dirty water. A lot of power goes into this machine, it is cheaper but costly to operate. This would cost roughly $9.3 million.
- Option #4: Ponds, where dirty water travels into a big pond. In turn the bacteria and algae in the pond clean the water. Once the water is cleaned, the clean water flows out. The main problem with this option, is it cannot be built on the current site and would need to be six miles away. The estimated cost for ponds would be $10 million.
- Option #5: recirculating gravel filter which allows dirty water into a tank where the water flows through beds of gravel. The bacteria that live on the gravel clean the water. Once the water goes through, it then recirculates through again. A system like this is designed for Minnesota. The cost of this system has yet to be determined.
Mayor Meyer chimed in, asking if the entire city would be incorporated, in that some people right now are not receiving services. Bollig answered yes, that the treatment would cover the city overall.
Bollig was questioned about the time frame for each option. Ambuehl answered that the recirculating gravel filter would shave off a year but is otherwise unsure of an exact timeframe. Mayor Meyer asked about the cost for each option then asked the council, “Any comments … thoughts?” Wahlhovd responded, “I am for the most cost effective one for the city.”
The council leaned towards the recirculating gravel filter for their first choice and the algae wheel for their second. The council approved for Bollig to consider those two options and to look into them more.
Ben Novak from Brownsville Fire Department, Twite of City Maintenance, and Treasurer Knight all provided their department reports with the council meeting adjourning at 8:43 p.m.